At their February meeting, members of Ferring Conservation Group turned out in good numbers to hear an excellent presentation by their own committee member and wildlife expert, Tricia Hall, on a recent organised trip to the wildlife rich country of Costa Rica in Central America.

They learnt that this country makes up just 0.1% of the world’s land mass but is home to 5% of its wildlife species, with many different climates and habitats which support in the region of 500,000 species of plants and animals. Incredibly, Tricia told the audience that there are around 50 species of Hummingbirds in Costa Rica and more butterfly species than in the whole of North America and Africa. Tricia said that the government had a very strong policy on conservation, saving money on defence and paying landowners to plant trees on their land.

The virtual tour of the country took the audience in an anticlockwise circular journey including both the coasts of the Caribbean and the Pacific oceans, as well as a wide variety of inland areas – the highlight of which was probably the volcanoes of the Arenal area in the west of the country. Some of the wildlife highlights illustrated by some brilliant photographs were such creatures as Iguanas, Caymans, Crocodiles, Toucans, Capuchin and Howler monkeys, as well as Sloths and a wide variety of exotic birds. Amazingly, many of these were seen within the grounds of the hotels where the party stayed.

One very amusing story Tricia told was about their coach driver who had to answer a call of nature behind a tree and when looking up he saw what turned out to be an Eyelash Pit Viper just above him. He didn’t stay close for too long!

It was a most enjoyable and entertaining talk, and was followed by a presentation by Julie Toben from local animal welfare organisation, WADARS, on the recent planning application to develop their rescue and re-homing centre in Hangleton Lane, Ferring. She outlined all the relevant points in the application, and carefully debunked a small number of negative comments made by others. At the conclusion, members voted on how the Group should formally respond to the application, and the 70+ members present voted unanimously to support it as an important and welcome addition to local animal welfare facilities.

For the first meeting of 2020 Ferring Conservation Group, with a near record attendance, welcomed back Lee Morgan from Lutra Wildlife, a British Columbia based travel and Ecotourism Company offering guided natural history and wildlife holidays. On Lee’s second visit to the Group he gave a fascinating presentation entitled ‘The Natural History of the Canadian Rockies (Beyond the Roads and Rails).

Lee explained that to optimize your chances of spotting the iconic wildlife of the Canadian Rocky Mountains a lot has to do with luck and being in the right place at the right time given the vastness of the area. There are certain places where animals are known to frequent, but part of the magic is that you never know when you are going to see something. Many tourists to the region make the mistake of trying to cover a large area to see as much as possible not realising that this would entail hour upon hour of driving with little time to take in the spectacular scenery, let alone get close to any wildlife. Lee advised the audience that the best time of the year to witness wildlife in their natural habitat is during the slower tourist seasons of spring, autumn and winter. This is when many of the animals move to lower elevations and near towns for mating rituals and food. As an example he informed the audience that during the elk rutting season from mid-September through October the bulls concentrate in the lower elevation meadows to fight over females. The bulls are extremely aggressive at this time so it is advisable to keep your distance.

Autumn is also the time when bears are actively foraging as they need to put on as much fat as possible before going into hibernation. Bighorn sheep are visible all year round but autumn and winter are the best times to spot the males as they are actively searching for mates.

In the spring as the snow begins to thaw in the lower valleys, the wildlife can be seen foraging for grass along the road sides. You may see female elk grouped together in meadows with their new calves. Bighorn sheep and deer start to bring their young to the grassy areas as well. The odd bear can sometimes be seen as early as mid-March but most will start to come out of hibernation in late April.

As summer approaches the temperatures rise and this causes wildlife to head higher up the alpine terrain. Lee commented that, surprisingly, the lesser visited Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay National parks can offer some of the best opportunities to see wildlife. These parks have a lower level of tourist traffic and a more varied habitat than the area of Banff.

Lee illustrated his presentation with a series of stunning photographs.

Ed Miller took to the floor to give an update on planning issues by advising the Group that the application for an additional property in the grounds of Elm Lodge, Tamarisk Way had been refused by Arun DC. There are two new applications: at 40, Little Paddocks to demolish the existing property and build 2 x 3 bed detached chalet bungalows and a 3 bed residence has been proposed at the Equestrian centre alongside Littlehampton Road. The office block at McIntyre’s Lane and the extended delivery times at Quercus Nursery have not yet been decided.

Tricia Hall concluded the meeting with her popular Nature Notes saying that it had been reported on the television news that a byelaw is to be introduced to prevent trawlers from entering the kelp bed areas along the Sussex coast .This will hopefully result in these vitally important regions recovering over time. Tricia also reported that the National Big Bird Watch revealed that sparrows were the most plentiful bird seen followed by bluetits in second place.

For the last monthly meeting of the Group in 2019 Ian Everest came along to enlighten us and also create some nostalgia with a fascinating film and narration of life on a Sussex downland farm. Ian’s interest in the history of Sussex farming dates back to his childhood, which was spent living on a 1,000 acre downland farm on which his father worked.

In his teenage years Ian worked on farms in the Ouse Valley before attending Plumpton Agricultural College. After further practical farm activity, he worked at a farm animal-disease research centre before entering into farming-related commercial activities.

His talk looked at life on Manor Farm, Bishopstone, during the 1950’s and is based on a cine film made by farmer John Willett. After attending the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester, John was keen to start modernising the farm by adopting new techniques and acquiring modern machinery.  His father was reluctant to change with the times, and the film gives an interesting insight into the demise of the old ways of farming practices and the gradual change with the introduction of modern labour saving machinery.

More than thirty men were employed on the farm at harvest time but reducing to twenty at other times of the year. It was a tough life with little financial reward for the workers, but the men were highly skilled in many aspects of their work. Skills not learnt at school or college, but passed down to them by their forbears.

Due to their differing ideas on running the farm, John and his father did not always see eye to eye, so the filming sessions had two purposes. Curiously one was to keep John occupied and away from his father (!) although it was soon apparent that the farm labourers worked much harder during the making of the cine film.

Sadly the farm was eventually split up and sold but some of the farm buildings still exist and have been converted into residential premises.

After attendees enjoyed tea and mince pies Tricia Hall and Graham Tuppen took to the floor to jointly present the popular Nature Notes slot. The renowned broadcaster and natural historian David Attenborough is supporting a campaign to help save the kelp forests off the Sussex coast. Kelp is the name given to a group of brown seaweeds; usually large in size and these plants are capable of forming dense aggregations in underwater forests.  Tricia and Graham were keen to inform members of the damage that has been caused to this most vulnerable biodiverse environment. According to one estimate, globally it can absorb about 600 million tonnes of carbon a year, twice as much as the UK emits annually. This campaign was launched by the Sussex Wildlife Trust and the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority to introduce an inshore trawler exclusion zone to help the kelp regenerate.

An impromptu collection in aid of the Woodland Trust appeal to ‘Plant a Tree to Save the World’ resulted in attendees donating £90 which will be matched from Ferring Conservation Group’s fund.

Ed Miller concluded the meeting with planning news and advised members that a revised planning application had been submitted by the owners of Elm Lodge in Tamarisk Way, Ferring for an additional property to be built in the back garden. Also the proposal for 465 homes to be built on the Northern Goring Gap is expected soon.

Kate Bradbury, an award winning author and journalist was warmly welcomed to Ferring Conservation Group’s October meeting. Kate is the author of several books including ‘The Wildlife Gardener’ and is the editor of the wildlife pages of BBC Gardener’s World Magazine. She regularly writes articles for newspapers and often appears on BBC Spring and Autumn Watch programmes.

Kate is passionate about organic, wildlife-friendly gardening and can see the potential in our gardens for preserving many species. She gardens on a small patch of land in Brighton and delights in the wildlife it has attracted in a relatively short space of time. Her many tips include growing native plants (just one native tree can support hundreds of different species – providing flowers for pollinators, leaves for caterpillars and then seeds or fruit for birds in autumn). Kate explained that non-natives have a great role in gardens too – especially for pollinating insects, but it is the natives that attract the leaf munchers, such as caterpillars, that also need leaves to assist breeding. Being at the bottom of the food chain these invertebrates are vitally important to anything from hedgehogs to frogs, toads, newts, birds and bats. In a small garden Kate recommended forget-me-knots, primroses and foxgloves as ideal plants to attract pollinators and if you have the room for a tree, a Silver Birch or standard Hawthorn would be ideal. If a small pond is viable then it should be shallow for insects to breed and pebbles should be placed on one side to create a beach, so that birds and bees can drink from the water’s edge.

Graham Tuppen took the floor at the second half of the meeting to deliver the Nature Notes slot. He informed the audience that the lagoons by the Rife were at last full from the recent rainfall and went on to report that the wet fields had attracted plenty of wading birds and gulls. Parasol mushrooms were abundant along the Ilex with the flowering ivy keeping bees busy and were attractive for hoverflies and wasps. Also many acorns were evident as well as seed from sycamore and hawthorn trees; again very helpful for wildlife. Graham also reported the sighting of a seal in the sea near to the Bluebird Café.

Planning news concluded the meeting with Ed Miller reporting that the planning application submitted by Worthing Council for the erection of beach huts along the seafront in Goring-by-Sea, had been withdrawn. The two warehouse units proposed on land adjacent to McIntyre’s Lane had been refused by Arun DC, along with the additional house in the back garden of The Old Flint House within the Ferring conservation area. Ed also advised that Arun DC had received a new application by Peugeot for an advertising sign on the forecourt of their garage along the A259. It was also reported that according to Persimmon’s architect, present at the public consultation afternoon held on 7th October at the Assembly Rooms in Worthing, the submission of an outline planning application to Worthing DC and Arun DC for 465 homes in the Northern Goring Gap was imminent.

Charlotte Owen from the Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT) was welcomed to Ferring Conservation Group’s September meeting to tell members and visitors about her role as a Wild Call Officer, which she described as ‘the best job in the world’. Charlotte illustrated her talk with many delightful photographs.

Based at Wood Mills, the headquarters of the SWT, Charlotte mans a helpline for the 1.6 million residents of Sussex answering a huge variety of wildlife related questions. A lot can happen in a year and with between 1500 to 2000 inquiries it is a not only a very busy job but also a very interesting one.

As Sussex is blessed with contrasting landscapes such as the coastline, the South Downs, heathland, woodland and wetlands that attract a diverse range of wildlife there is never a dull moment. The seasons often give a clue to the type of questions posed. In early spring newly emerged hedgehogs, toads, grass snakes, lizards and adders become more active and are easier to spot and can bring forth a variety of questions from the public – such as how to attract hedgehogs into gardens and how to deter squirrels. Also help is requested in solving mysterious footprints in gardens and the appearance of holes in lawns.

Charlotte admits to sometimes using Google to help answer questions and this helped enormously when an email popped into her inbox from a sender asking advice as they had two Black Bears in their garden (unusual for Sussex she thought!). Fortunately the request came from overseas and Charlotte was able to quickly refer the sender to a website dedicated to Black Bears.

After a break for tea and biscuits Graham Tuppen took the floor to deliver the ever popular Nature Notes. Graham advised members that the September working party had tidied the wildflower bed in Little Twitten and the cut grass had been raked up on the verge along Sea Lane with help from volunteers from ‘The Good Gym’. A variety of birds had been spotted including a Kingfisher on the Rife together with a Grey Wagtail. Unfortunately all of the ponds and lagoons next to the Rife had dried up.

Ed Miller concluded the meeting with planning news by advising that the application for the large lit advertising sign proposed by the Peugeot Garage on the A259 had been refused. There were still some undecided applications and also three appeals awaiting decisions by the Planning Inspector.